Hello members of RPGuild arena. I've been lurking around for a bit and noticed you guys have a problem with keeping a tournament alive.. or having a good one at all. Don't worry we both need a tournament in our lives, but this time I got one for you! [b][u]TZDL2017[/u][/b] TZDL2017! TheZones Duel League is a tournamnent event that happens every year.. every other year, and then had a hietus for 5 years but now we're back. This time we are going to have it YOUR OWN ARENA! I decided it was a good idea to bring in the talent of TheZones Duel League into this site because we both need this. We both need a tournament! This isn't site vs site promotional event, but a cross-site promotional event! All participating parties enter on equal footing into the single elimination tournament using a new form of rules for TZDL. I am sure the likes of [@Doc Docter] can appreciate a tournament with some decent talent; likewise, we wanna see what you guys can do too. To sum it up! This is a T1 or PbP tournament. The winner of the tournament will recieve 1000USD that's One-Thousand Dollars USD that's real money from my paypal account. Don't worry 1k isn't a whole lot to me, but it is TO YOU! Below is a draft I made in Notepad++ containing the rules and information you need to be interested in it, and if you have questions of any kind that is what our [url=https://discord.gg/U9aYrsz]discord[/url] or this thread is for! This is a draft though. The final product will be a lot better. Trust me. Oh allow me to introduce to you. I am Mobius. [hr] This is a rough draft of TZDL2017 in celebration of our 10 year anniversary. This year we'll have another single elimination tournament to determine not only this year's champion, but the champion for the invitational event for TZDL2017 Winter Season and onward. This is an open invitation to anyone interested in participating especially inside and outside of RPGuild. This year's single elimination tournament will have a cash prize for the winner of the tournament at One-Thousand Dollars or 1000USD directly from my Paypal and an invite into the paid Winter Event season. The 2nd runner up will receive an invitation to the paid Winter Season along the first prize winner. The brackets will be generated by challonge.com/tournament/bracket_generator during a livestream showing that will feature anyone who wishes to participate to commemorate this event. The date of this will be announced sometime in the very near future. Formats of the fight will be the try and trued T1 based combat style or Play-By Post (Pbp). Each player will have a turn to enact desired actions in play. The specific rules of TZDL for turn-order is that the first player to post their intro post is the first player to attack and is thus assigned the Player1 status; otherwise, the second player to post their introduction will be assigned as Player2 and can only attack after Player1. Should Player1 not attack in their 2nd post in the fight then Player2 is permitted to attack. The nature of the attack notwithstanding. The tournament will be a single elimination. A player will submit one character for the tournament and must win a round to advance. Each character will be placed in the same arena or map of those in the same round. Example: All matches in the preliminaries are in the same field or map in different threads with no chronology between them. Each round will be a different map with different features, geometry, topography, and gimmicks. There will be NO loser brackets what so ever. You win a match by either killing your opponent's character, Knockout, or Disqualification. None of the matches will be considered canon to your character(s) unless both parties agree to it. Fights involving a canonical spin may have their characters know each other by name and maybe an indication of their reputation and abilities but nothing beyond surface knowledge. The matches will be actively judged by 3 judges. The first and primary judge is Mobius or Devil on RPGuild but the other 2 will be announced later. For this event I will need 1 judge outside of TZDL who is qualified of interpreting information and roleplaying combat and may succumb to a screening to determine their eligibility. The 2nd judge will be someone I elect who may have TZDL experience or a qualified third party not associated with Thezones or TZDL (for impartiality). The judges will screen each match at any given time in any particular way. That means you will have 3 active judges watching one match in particular. A match ends upon the defeat of an opponent when they can no longer fight (Death or KO). Players may "claim" a hit of varying severity if they deem an opponent made a critical mistake and appeal to all the judges for an inquiry, but confirmed hit(s) may be ruled if a critical discrepancy occurs that none of the parties discerned. Hits may also be used as penalties for availability infractions(See more about Availabilities). ------------------------- Important Reading Material ------------------------------ [hider]For those further interested in understanding how TZDL interprets Play-By Post fighting it's imperative you read excerpts from our wiki to understand some of our terminologies used. http://vertex.wikia.com/wiki/Interception http://vertex.wikia.com/wiki/Commitment http://vertex.wikia.com/wiki/Chronological_order http://vertex.wikia.com/wiki/Permanent http://vertex.wikia.com/wiki/Auto-Defense The wiki contains a slew of random assortment of information that I will attempt to periodically update based on the need (or demand) of the players. There's a lot of topics to cover and I want to share them all, but I can only do so much alone so please be patient. Any questions you have feel free to message me.[/hider] ------------------------- TZDL2017 Combat Rules Section 1 --------------------------------- [hider][b]Power Scale/Level/Tier -[/b] TheZones has officially ran TZDL under Mid-Power combat since 2007 and this year will be no different. TZDL2012 operates with Mid-High or Mid To High combat but will NOT exceed to "High" tier power levels and speed. The absolute power-scale of TZDL is non-existent as disparity is acknowledged among all characters and thus should refer to the Scheduling System below to determine whether a Power, Ability, or Attack is considered appropriate. Since a punch from one character won't have them destroy a building if their build is astronomically different than someone who can it is then crucial that limitations and discretion is left to the player. For a frame of reference to what was allowed in previous TZDLs then read these profiles: Ru Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239117&t=584551]Tsubaki Isekiru [TZDL2012][/url] Mouse aka Decoy Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239108&t=584551]Mitsu Mazono [TZDL2012][/url] Kudamon aka Keilion Jason Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239116&t=584551]Jason [TZDL2012][/url] Argryia Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239105&t=584551]Serenity Redstar [TZDL2012][/url] Goliath Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239115&t=584551]Spade [TZDL2012][/url] Mobius Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239121&t=584551]Jhieten Matsunagi [TZDL2012][/url] Ares Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=236834&t=584490]Vodin Kindra [TZDL2009][/url] Paradox Entry - [url=http://s8.zetaboards.com/TheZones/single/?p=239111&t=584551]Rakhana Vakarian [TZDL2012][/url] These older profile sheets are not directly indicative of current TZDL. The power-scale for TZDL cannot be measured by a mere number or metric but rather abstract and definitive abilities of each user. Theoretically, both characters should fight at the adequate strength to endanger large collateral parts of a city or locale but may not be limited to this. [b]Fields or Maps -[/b] Both parties in a round will fight in a designated thread posted by a Judge with all pertinent information available to them. Player characters will appear in fixed locations or "spawns" on the field and cannot appear anywhere else. They may transition there in any form they like, but they must be present in the exact location of a spawn before they are permitted to relocate and possibly in the same post. You'll be given 3 visuals to aid you in understanding the terrain you'll be playing in: Textual, Photographic, and Topographic (2D map of the layout). Spawns on a map will be determined by the map itself with legends provided.[/hider] ------------ TZDL2017 Combat Rules Section 2 - Ban/Regulation list -------------- [b][u]Terminologies[/u][/b] [hider][b]Justification/Justify -[/b] Validation with proper evidence or argument presented. When used in the past tense it's to describe applicable utilization of an action. [b]Proposal -[/b] An idea suggested explicitly or implicitly and usually in the form of an action such as an attack or defense. Actions in Play-By Post, in context of combat, are proposals in which an action is described or alluded to an effect to an opposing party. [b]Action -[/b] Describing an act especially in Play-By Post combat. An Action refers to any movement a character does particularly attacking, defending, or evading. [b]Play-By Post -[/b] Roleplaying on internet forums using the T1 turn order system. Each player is given a turn in which to commit action(s). [b]Properties -[/b] Characteristics of permanents in roleplaying or values assigned to phenomenon. Properties describe a thing or "permanent" by both implicit or explicit information and measured by knowledge of either similar occurrences or description of the involving party. [b]Permanent -[/b] Any thing on the field acknowledged by either characters or their authors whether through observation (active) or writing (passive). Example: A tree seen by a character is an active acknowledgement by both player and character, whereas a tree written by the author regardless of character is passive. [b]IC or OOC -[/b] In Character and Out Of Character[/hider] -------------- [color=yellow]Ban[/color]/[color=limegreen]Regulation[/color] 2.1.0 and may be subject to change -------------- [b][u][color=yellow]Ban[/color][/u][/b] [hider][b]Autohit -[/b] Establishing a confirmed hit or contact in the same turn an action was initiated on an opponent is prohibited. Participating parties are allowed to react to any action when applicable, and recipient of a perceived hit is permitted options in response to the proposal of an enemy player in accordance with Play-By Post rules. [b]Godmodding -[/b] Control of the opponent or their actions is forbidden. Negation and Immunities may full under this category. [b]Meta-Game -[/b] Using Out Of Character knowledge and information in character. Blatant unjustified actions is prohibited pertaining to precise disassembling of a character or ability/power they control. Retroactions and Precognition fall under this category. Information your character does not have access to constitutes as Meta-gaming. [b]Precognition -[/b] The power to perceive predetermined events is not allowed. Calculations and heuristic creativity is permissible. [b]Retroaction -[/b] To undo an action proposed by the original party in the next post. An action can be cancelled by a player with minimum of committal when applicable, but the act of reseting or reversing a previously stated action is disallowed. Example: creating an action, and upon the enemy player's response, deciding that said established action never occurred. [b]Bubbling -[/b] Surrounding an opponent in an inescapable trap or attack is prohibited. Bubbling describes either the literal definition of creating an actual bubble or object around a character, or multifarious attacks from every conceivable direction whether or not literal. Manifesting an attack in extremely near vicinity of an opposing character constitutes. Bubbling constitutes as Godmodding; exception, attacks that are limited in trajectory do not constitute. To imply or otherwise surround your opponent on the instant an action was enacted constitutes as bubbling.[/hider] ---------------- [u][b][color=limegreen]Regulated[/color][/b][/u] [hider][b]Mime -[/b] Copying or stealing the abilities or powers of a player is regulated. To mimic or copy a power requires intrinsic knowledge of an ability's mechanics or how it works, and MUST not violate Meta-game. The conditions to recreate or replicate a phenomenon must be respected and withheld. The exact cloning of an enemy player is prohibited. [b]Negation -[/b] To undo the action(s) of an opponent through direct control is prohibited with exception of mismatching properties of the propose riposte. If two characters share similar powers or affinities then proposed actions by either player cannot be neutralized and must be treated normally; however, an attack or defense may be negated or blocked by justification of arranged properties that could render a proposal ineffective. Example will be generic electricity seeking nearest ground or copious amounts of water withstanding fire. These are treated as defense in place of absolute negation such as both water elementals dispelling actions of either party. [b]Immunities -[/b] Invincibility to properties is regulated, but outright immunities to broad concepts is restricted. Resistance does not constitute. Invincibility does constitute. Immunity to a specific property cannot directly encroach broad ranges of other powers or abilities or indirectly confer soft invincibility. Example: Immunity to poison may be permissible, but immunity to kinetic forces is not as the latter can confer almost extensive invincibility to all damage. [b]NPCs -[/b] Non-Playable or Not-Player Characters is a limited engine of any build provided it is permissible. The maximum number of NPCs a player is allowed to have are 2. Any permanent that is directly controlled by a character will not constitute as an NPC. A player character's abilities (powers and special) is inversely proportionate to the amount of NPCs they control; meaning, the amount of abilities/powers a player character has is halved by a singular NPC and then reduced further if their profile contains 2. NPCs may be Autohit in particular turns based on the amount of NPCs on the field (every 2 turns for 2 NPCs and every 4 turns for 1). The escalation of damage distributed to NPCs this way will start from an autohit non-lethal, serious injury, and fatal the latter being either a KO or kill before this counter resets and one NPC can only be targeted at a time. A player controlling an NPC may substitute damage their NPC will have otherwise taken for their player character and may mitigate the damage dealt. Escalation of damage may roll-back based on the amount of turns an NPC is not on the field. A profile sheet containing NPCs MUST have all their NPCs present in the start of every round. [b]Stacking -[/b] To place many different and/or unrelated powers/abilities on a character is regulated. There is no determined number of power(s) a character has access to, or how many different abilities a character can enact due to a specific power. An endless stack of limitless potential is restricted based on how wide of an application each power has in perspective to their potency; likewise, numerous applications of one power may also be regulated. This ruling will encompass any and all equipment too.[/hider] ---------------------- TZDL2017 Combat Rules Section 3 Scheduling ------------------------- TZDL2017 introduces a new Power Scheduling system to determine the legality of a power and ability by its measure of potency. It's encouraged that all powers and abilities have working mechanics that its user is beholden by. Special abilities and powers must operate with mechanism in mind that an operator of such a power must be held to and that implies its very weaknesses. The scheduling system determines the overall rank of a particular ability as is and what was described by the player. The order of the scheduling tiers will be descending where 5 is absolutely allowed and 1 being inapplicable. The greater potency a power or ability has the higher the chance it may ascend to a greater rank on the schedule. To clarify: Schedule 1 abilities/powers/attacks/defenses/evasions are forbidden whereas small instances of Schedule 2 may be permissible. The following will elaborate on the qualification of a schedule to best determine where something may fall into: [hider][b][u]Schedule 5 -[/u][/b] The most basic premise of powers and abilities. Actions within this tier are composed of a fundamental function with little nuance and can be thwarted or evaded with proceeding escalation of powers or abilities. Punches and kicks without imbuing properties or seldom meaningful characteristics fall under this category. A schedule 5 power can be countered by natural forces exerted from the adversary or barriers that may be found naturally. [b][u]Schedule 4 -[/u][/b] When abilities and powers undergo nuance and extremity in the power scale. Wielding the premises of elemental forces are common and are utilized with impunity, but their effects or properties remain wholly primitive or simple. A fire ball that destroy a building or electricity from its user fall under this category as though their scale of power and speeds may vary, the very construction and principles of these forces are basic as they devastating. A schedule 4 ability or power requires significant resources to mitigate, but does not require much effort or planning to defend due to simplicity. Examples of such feats: Draven's ice weaponry materialization(TZDL2012), Kaiten's Pisonic abilities(TZDL2012), most small-arms fire, Mystic's elemental abilities(TZDL2012), and Mimring's (TZDL2012) Natural Abilities to register high speed. [b][u]Schedule 3 -[/u][/b] The pinnacle of permissible powers, attacks, defense, and abilities most fall under this category because of their high level of efficiency. Schedule 3 powers involve subtle or outright complexities making it difficult for adversaries to manage though applicable to defend with proper justification and creativity when applicable. A schedule 3 attack may involve more intense speeds coupled with intricate properties that may require more output than a simple shield, and some attacks may require more sophisticated compositions in the hopes of legitimately defending against them; thus, Schedule 3 powers and abilities may seem harder or impossible to defend against if the conditions are inadequate and requires special care when dealing with this threat level. Schedule 3 may still be countered by exertion of a foe and forces most common, but creating the necessary materials to properly defend or break a schedule 3 power may seem logistically illogical and require more exertion than needed. Examples involve: Mitsu Mazono's Railgun (TZDL2012) as the output exceeds simple ballistics in both power and speed, Jhieten Matsunagi's telekinetic projectiles for their diverse properties and output (TZDL2012), Jacen Blink's Prosthetic Eye for registering multiple natural forces and their composition (TZDL2012), and Mimring's Spectrum Breath for its diverse range of abilities or power breaking application(TZDL2012). Schedule 3 weaponry involve high powered projectiles and even more deadlier harder to defend properties that, though can be defended against, requires knowledge the enemy may not have and mismatching can be extremely fatal. [b][u]Schedule 2 -[/u][/b] A power, defense, or attack exceeds a particular sophistication or is described to have minimum drawbacks. Schedule 2 abilities and properties offset possible defense against them as to require specific conditions that may be outside accessibility one could control and thus even more difficult to manage. An attack from schedule 2 may have abilities that could bypass most defense with only designated weaknesses in place. An example will be a time phasing projectile that could phase through most if not all armor or out of reality or magics that may only be opposed by magics of different varieties. Powers and abilities that require much more specific powers of the same nature to fight it in any capacity fall under this category. [b][u]Schedule 1 -[/u][/b] The ultimate classification of extreme powers where only a power equal to or greater than can measure. Schedule 1 powers, abilities, attacks, and defense bypasses all capable means of measures that an opponent may use creatively to overcome and becomes a mandatory stable to counter others who uses a particular power. An Astral Flame that can only be defend against is a great power of the astral world, dimensional attacks that require dimensional protection, or energies with precise weaknesses that only certain people may have access too will fall under this tier.[/hider] The rating of a power or ability is based on whether it can be evaded, blocked, and attack(ed) versus how fast, strong, or reach it may be. The schedule system does not adhere to mismatch disparities between characters in the tournament, but what can theoretically oppose a feat despite the entrants of TZDL; If a fire character enters a tournament where the signups are a majority of water users than the rules will not acclimate nor accommodate. A character is not judged completely by how many schedule abilities they have but rather each ability is measured. It is encouraged that a player describes facets of their character in detail with much thought as TZDL does not cover gross ambiguity. ----------------- Profile Sheets/Builds ------------------- Profile sheets should be made either around TZDL's scheduling system with B/R in mind or close to it and you cannot be permitted to enter TZDL without an approved profile sheet. A profile sheet must state all basic information of your character including their appearance, powers, abilities, weaponry, and miscellaneous. A template of a profile sheet: [code] [b]Player Name:[/b] [b]Availability:[/b] [spoiler] [b]Name:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] [b]Height:[/b] [b]Weight:[/b] [b]Race:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] [b]Weapons or items[/b] [b]Abilities:[/b] [b](Optional)Backstory:[/b][/code] You do not have to follow this specific formula, but understand that your profile sheet must cover ALL intricate information of your character especially their abilities from physical to supernatural. You cannot use a power or ability if it not implied or stated in your profile sheet, and ambiguity will either result in either an edit, rejection, or penalty (default value). Please keep your build in mind and remember: your character can't do everything. All profile sheets will be submitted in a designated thread for the public to see and will be examined by all 3 judges. ------------------ Availabilities ------------------------ Availabilities is a mechanic introduced in TZDL2012 to supplant traditional waiting periods for players to post. Availabilites are submitted with your profile sheet at the top and should include the days of the week you are available to post and at what times of the day. Here is how your availability should look like, and with respect to your Timezone [hider] [code][b]Availability:[/b] x:xx AM/PM from xday to xday[/code] Any player who do not post in the day and time of their availability will be constituted as an infraction and receive a penalty in their fight based on how many times they have not posted. 1st infraction will get a verbal warning. 2nd infraction will receive an autohit from their opponent (stun, not serious) 3rd Infraction will be a critical autohit (serious damage) 4th Infraction will result in the death-blow of the character [/hider] Players MUST update their availabilities every week for any changes. A player can be award a pardon for real-life circumstance but not out of habit. When both players availability in a match overlay means both are not only available to post but do so frequently if applicable. Chronic lateness will result in an infraction. When a player advances to the next round they must submit an update of their availability, but players eliminated from the tournament do not have to (duh). ----------------- Contact ----------------- [hider=My Hider] Want to talk to other members of TZ or TZDL? Want to help us with the rules while we wait for the official rules and sign up threads? Want to be a judge? https://discord.gg/U9aYrsz Want to talk on Skype? i3r0k3nt0y or PM me here. I'm fine EITHER way. [/hider] All subject to change and can be negotiated. Players interested thus far Keilion (Returning player) Doll Maker (Debuting) Decoy (Returning Player) Paradox (Returning Player) Valhalla (Debuting) Draven (Returning Player) Vordak (Debuting) Kenaron (Debuting) DocDocter (Debuting) Enki (Debuting) Everett (Debuting) DLL (Debuting) Dias Blade (Debuting) Darth (Debuting) Drifting Pollen (Debuting) Xavier Bloodbayne (Debuting) Atlasrize (Debuting) Liaison (Debuting) Alucroas (Debuting) Geraven (Debuting) [hr] TZDL Time Table DOUBLE POST ANNOUNCEMENT! TIME TABLE! April 8th to April 14th will be the interest check thread. April 17th to 22nd at 12:00AM (after friday) will be the profile sheet submission. May 1st to ????? will be preliminaries. The first match will be